London: Champions Manchester City suffered a stunning 0-1 home defeat to Stoke City on Saturday as their cast of attacking talents were blunted in a lifeless display that cost them their first dropped points of the season.
Mame Biram Diouf scored a superb individual goal to silence the City fans who have become used to seeing one-sided romps at their Etihad stadium, especially against the Premier League’s lesser lights.
It was an equally miserable day for City’s rivals Manchester United whose frustrations continued in a 0-0 draw at promoted Burnley with British-record signing Angel Di Maria unable to spark an improvement in their fortunes.
Di Maria, signed from Real Madrid for £59.7 million on Tuesday, showed flashes of his talent in a 70-minute debut, but United still looked short of attacking ideas, claiming only their second point from their opening three league games.
In a late match, Chelsea thumped Everton 6-3 in a thriller. New signing Diego Costa was on target twice, scoring for the third Premier League game in a row, as Chelsea produced a swashbuckling performance to overwhelm Everton at Goodison Park.
“It was wonderful for everyone at the stadium and people watching television around the world but not for me,' Jose Mourinho told the BBC.”We cannot make so many defensive mistakes.
“We want to improve as a team by keeping our defensive strength and quality and improving in other areas. Today we showed we are improving in other areas but not keeping the balance in defence.”
Swansea City’s excellent start to the season continued as they swept aside West Bromwich Albion 3-0 to move to the top of the fledgling table with a maximum nine points, while Southampton came from behind to beat West Ham United 3-1.
Crystal Palace, playing their first game under new manager Neil Warnock, scored through on-loan Wilfried Zaha in the fifth minute of stoppage time to grab a 3-3 draw at Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers beat Sunderland 1-0 for their first win since gaining promotion.
Games at City’s home stadium have frequently resembled carefully scripted affairs with their glittering array of stars showering supporters with goals and entertainment. Both were in short supply against a rugged and resilient Stoke, who scored 13 minutes into the second half when Senegal international Diouf raced 60 metres before beating City keeper Joe Hart.
This was only the second time in 71 games that City, who looked ruthless in Monday’s 3-1 win over Liverpool, had failed to score at home and ended a run of seven consecutive league wins stretching back to last season’s title triumph.
“It’s a surprising defeat because we don’t expect to lose against Stoke but these games sometimes happen,” City’s manager Manuel Pellegrini said.
“We tried from everywhere and really we are not very creative we did not find the space and that is credit to Stoke.”
It was a similarly ineffectual display from United, whose defence, ripped apart in a 4-0 League Cup defeat to third tier MK Dons on Tuesday, still looked uncomfortable with manager Louis van Gaal’s three centre back system.
With cameras panning to former boss Alex Ferguson yawning in the stands, questions are already being asked of Van Gaal, who is struggling to implement his playing style and scrambling to recruit players before the transfer window shuts on Monday.
